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BARNYARD MANURE 

ITS VALUE AND USES 



BY 

EDWARD R. MINNS 

DEPARTMENT OF AGRICULTURE 

CORNELL UNIVERSITY 

ITHACA, N. Y. 



F6194 



Compliments 



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Sears, Roebuck & Co. 

Chicago, Illinois 



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;i)\VARD R. MLNiWS 



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BARNYARD MANURE 

ITS VALUE AND USES 



In the older civilized countries of the world the excrements <»!' 
domestic animals have been used for centuries to enrich the cultivated 
soils. Long ago the Romans recognized the value of such manure 
and wrote directions for its use. The necessity for producing better 
crops to meet the needs of congested populations has led the agri- 
culturists of Italy, France and Great Britain to save and return to the 
soil the waste products of li\e stock husbandr) years before the need 
was felt in our own country. The \irgin soil of the Western Con- 
tinent did not need to be fed at the hrst in order to make it produce 
harvests. By the time fertility began to decline in the Atlantic Coast 
States new areas, including the fertile prairies of the West, became 
accessible and many an Eastern farm, grown poorer in soil fertility for 
lack of plant food and proper utility of its resources, was abandoned for 
the new and more productive lands of the Mississippi Valley and the 
plains beyond. Some of those who remained behind to farm the best 
of the Eastern lands had l)rought from Europe habits of thrift based 
on a knowledge of good soil husbandry. The fertility of many of 
the best Eastern farm lands has been maintained and even increased 
by the judicious use of waste i^roducts from the live stock industries 
of this country. Barnyard manure has been a most \'aluable asset 
for the gardener and farmer of the East for decades, but until re- 
cently the farmers of the prairie states looked upon it as a nuisance, 
something to be gotten rid of as cheaplv as possible with no thought 
of returning it to the soil from which its ingredients sprang. The 
Kansas farmer hauled it away from his farm barns and piled it in 
some out of the way place to rot only a few years ago. If the feed 
lots of Colorado stock farmers become too deep with manure for the 
comfort of his animals, he moves the fence to cleaner ground but 
leaves the manure to leach and rot just where it was dropped, even 
to this day. In Ohio, the borderland between the East and \\'est, the 
spectacle of dairy barns built on the ri\er banks so that the semi- 
liquid manure could be more easily pushed down the slojte .mil be 



swept away by the river, has been commented upon. And there have 
been farmers, too. who did not trouble themselves to treat their 
larger fields with barnyard manure but contented themselves with 
heavy applications to their gardens and truck patches near the barn- 
yard, and this happened only forty years ago or less. 

There has been a gradual but pronounced change of ideas re- 
garding the value and use of barnyard manure among the men who 
handle it, during the last two decades. This has been brought about 
mainly by the facts discovered in scientific investigations at the agri- 
cultural experiment stations. The agricultural colleges and the agri- 
cultural papers have greatly aided the experiment stations to bring 
these facts home to the men most benefited by their practical applica- 
tion, while the rapid development of machinery and appliances for 
rendering the work of handling and applying barnyard manure less 
irksome and more profitable, has led many a man to make good use 
of that which he once wasted. Let us examine the facts as they now 
appear in regard to the value and uses of barnyard manure. 

The solid and liquid excrements of domestic animals, together 
with the litter used as bedding or for absorbing the liquid part, con- 
stitute barnyard manure. It is quite variable in composition. The 
age, condition and kind of animal producing the manure, the quality 
of food fed and of the litter used for bedding are all factors which 
influence the composition of barnyard manure. The value of it. 
measured in results to the user, depends on its initial composition, the 
losses it may sustain before it becomes a part of the soil, the nature 
of the soil to which it is applied, the time of application, and the 
manner of application. 

BARNYARD MANURE CONTAINS PLANT FOOD. 

The ingredients found in barnyard manure which are recognized 
as plant food and therefore have a market value, are nitrogen, 
phosphorus and potash. They are present in the form of compounds, 
some of which are soluble and some insoluble in water. The liquid 
excrement of farm animals contains most of the potash and slightly 
more than half of the total nitrogen voided, but only a trace of the 
phosphorus is found in it. On account of the readiness with which 
plants can use it, and because nitrogen has a higher market value 
than either potash or phosphorus, the liquid portion of manures is 
thought more valuable than the solid portion, so far as actual plant 
food is concerned. It has the disadvantage of being more easily lost 
by leaching, and as the nitrogen is present in easily fermented forms 
it may be wholly or partly lost in the form of gases. 

The kind of litter used for bedding may influence the percentage 



5 

of plant food to quite an extent. Sawdust and shavings, while they 
are good absorbents of the liquid manure, and greatly facilitate its 
application to the soil, are poor in the plant food elements most 
wanted. Straw from wheat, oats and rye is better and quite readily 
decays in the soil, but peat, because of the larger percentage of 
nitrogen it contains, is a still better bedding material, if the plant 
food value of manure is considered. 

The manures from different kinds of farm animals have been 
found to vary somewhat in composition, mainly in the amount of 
water contained. Sheep manure contains less water than that from 
horses, swine or cattle. Cow manure contains more water than any 
of the others. A mixture of all four kinds has been reported by Wolff 
to contain water 75 per cent, nitrogen 0.45 per cent, phosphoric acid 
0.21 per cent, and potash 0.52 per cent. Although animals at work 
or in process of fattening, giving milk, or making growth, produce 
manures of varying composition, "the aAcrage value of the manures 
produced by a given live weight of animals under farm conditions is 
practically the same irrespective of the kind of animal considered."* 

Regarding the portion of fertilizing ingredients or plant food re- 
covered in the manure from the food consumed by the animal. 
Prof. Vivian says, "Taking into account the ratio between matured 
and young stock, milch cows and non-milk producing animals, as 
found on the average farm, it is conservative to assume that at least 
eighty (80) per cent of the nitrogen, phosphoric acid and potash 
present in the materials fed on the farm is voided by the animals in 
the solid and liquid excrement." It follows then that where a stock 
farmer feeds most of the farm crops to animals and buys additional 
feeds in the form of concentrates, he can add to the store of plant 
food in his soil if he so handles the manure produced by his animals 
that little or none of its value is lost before applying it. That this 
actually happens on dairy farms in the Eastern States has been fre- 
quently noticed. It is the chief reason why intensified animal hus- 
bandry is so often relied upon to build up the fertility of a run down 
farm. The correct method of applying manure to the soil by means 
of the mechanical spreader has made this system a sure success. 

BARNYARD MANURE IMPROVES THE PHYSICAL CONDI- 
TION OF THE SOIL. 

Next to the actual plant food added the most important benefit 
to the soil from the use of barnyard manure is the changed physical 
condition. Humus is formed by the decay of solid excrements and 
bedding. Humus added to soils composed mainly of very fine par- 

*The Principles of Manuring, by Prof. Alfred Vivian. 



() 

tides, such as cla^s and clay loams, makes them more porous and 
frial:)le. Surplus water finds its way more quickly below the roots of 
plants, while in times of droui^ht the capillary water stored in the 
spong}' humus mixed with the soil grains is available to plant roots 
near the surface. The soil also shows less tendency to open in large 
cracks permitting tlie escape of moisture from below when it is most 
needed by croi)s. 

Coarse strawy manure has a \ery beneficial effect on tenacious 
clay soils. Aeration is promoted, the soil is more easily cultivated, 
and the decay of tlie coarse material generates some heat which helps 
to raise the temperature of the soil. On account of their tendency to 
hot fermentation the manures from horses and sheep are thought to 
be more beneficial in such st)ils than that from hogs and cattle. 

In porous soils through which the water passes too rapidly, 
decayed manure helps to bind the loose particles together, acts as a 
sponge to absorb and hold ^vater which otherwise would sink below 
the feeding ground of plant roots, and makes evaporation from the 
surface less rapid. .Sandy soils are already well warmed and aerated as 
a general thing, and the decay of manure is more rapid in them than is 
sometimes desirable for the good of the crops grown. To such soils 
rotted and half rotted manure applied just prexious to planting time 
has been found better than applications of fresh manure. Fermenta- 
tion and decay are too much hastened in loose sandy soils by fresh 
barnyard manure, especialh' if from horses and sheep. 

If the mechanical condition of any soil is to be improved by barn- 
yard manure, the thoroughness with which it is shaken apart in 
spreading on the surface of the soil and cultivated into it, is of the 
utmost importance. Each particle of soil ought to come in contact 
with a particle of manure, but this cannot be where great chunks are 
scattered o\er a field by hand and plowed under with difficulty. The 
good results in soil texture are more quickly apparent and morel 
cheaply produced where machinery is used to tear apart and scatter 
the manure before mixing it into the soil. 

BARNYARD MANURE HELPS TO UNLOCK THE PLANT 
FOOD ALREADY IN THE SOIL. 

Much of the potash and phosphorus in agricultural soils is not 
available for crop growing because not in a soluble form. The active 
fermentation of fresh barnyard manure liberates carbon dioxide which 
acts as a solvent when combined with water. Certain low organisms 
like the bacteria and fungi are known to assist in dissolving rock par- 
ticles and manure encourages their growth. The organic acids re- 
sulting from the decay of humus are also thought to have solvent 



properties. Barnyard manure has been found beneficial to muck soils 
where drainage and liming have preceded it. for the introduction of 
countless bacteria in the manure hastened the decay needed in the 
muck before it could be cultivated satisfactorily. 

BARNYARD MANURE AS A MULCH FOR CERTAIN CROPS 
HAS PROVEN A SUCCESS. 

Where the retention of moisture during a critical period of growth 
is needed for some special crop, no better blanket can be found than 
stable manure. When rain falls, the soluble portions of the manure 
are leached into the soil below to feed the plant roots. When drought 
prevails the coating of manure effectually stops the undue evaporation 
of moisture from the soil wathout depriving it of aeration. Tomato 
and pepper plants in the garden or forcing house, late potatoes and 
cabbages respond to the manure mulch, while succeeding crops will 
also derive great benefit from the manure plowed under. It seems 
likely that the marked benefits found in top dressing meadows with 
fresh manure may be partly due to the mulching effects of the manure 
which has settled down around the grass crowns where it prevents 
excessive evaporation, through the hottest days of summer, as well as 
feeds the shallow rooted grasses by leaching in the spring and winter 
rains. Without the machine spreading which properly distributes the 
mulch over meadow lands it would be well nigh impossible to secure 
uniformly good results. Although barnyard manure is a valuable 
asset to American farmers if saved carefully and applied intelligently, 
in practice it suffers heavy losses in value from at least three sources, 
all of which are avoidable. 

DEFECTIVE STABLE FLOORS AND LACK OF ABSORBENTS 
WASTE THE LIQUID MANURE. 

Where ordinary earth is used as a stable floor, or the manure 
gutter has no better bottom, a surprising amount of the liquid excre- 
ment soaks away into the ground and is lost. Plenty of bedding will 
not stop this loss completely, for time is necessary to saturate the 
straw or other litter commonly used. Cut straw or sawdust will 
absorb the liquid portion more rapidly. Where planks are laid on top 
of earth for flooring there is a little improvement but usually some 
cracks are left between them and others are formed in a few vears 
allowing the escape of liquid manure into the ground before it can be 
absorbed by bedding if any is used. Thoroughly tight floors and 
gutters should be the rule in every stable, and in addition there should 
be enough bedding or other absorbents used to take up all the liquid 



8 

excrement produced. If for sanitary reasons it seems necessary to 
remove the surplus liquids without waiting for them to be absorbed, a 
tight drain should be connected with the gutters and lead into an out- 
side cistern or pit. It can then be applied to meadows through a 
sprinkling cart with good results, or else the drier manures from the 
barn may be stored in the pit where they will have a chance to absorb 
more of the liquid portion before use in the fields. The use of Port- 
land cement makes it possible for every thrifty farmer to have good 
stable floors that will turn water and last a lifetime at a reasonable 
cost. A combination of matched plank and pounded clay may make an 
impervious floor but it is lacking in permanency. 

LEACHING IN THE OPEN BARNYARD DEPRIVES MANURE 
OF ITS SOLUBLE COMPOUNDS. 

Although the liquid excrements may l)e well cared for in the 
stable and bedding enough to absorb them be used, storing manure in 
an open yard for weeks or months where it will be exposed to rains 
causes frequent and heavy losses. As the rain water leaches through 
the mass it carries away much of the soluble portion into open 
ditches, brooks and rivers. This is particularly true where manure is 
carelessly piled under the drip of the eaves of farm buildings. The 
covered barnyard where no rain can enter, or the tight bottomed pit 
from which surface washing is turned away, are much better places 
in which to store manure. This loss can be almost entirely eliminated 
by hauling manure to the fields and spreading it evenly over the sur- 
face at frequent intervals of a day, two days or a week. Here leaching 
benefits the soil below and in the case of meadows brings marked im- 
provement in the appearance of the grass and clover plants. There is 
little to fear from leaching in the fields except where manure is spread 
on top of ice and solid snow. The soluble compounds washed out of 
the coarse litter and solid excrement are mostly fixed in the soil, es- 
pecially if it be a clay or loamy soil. The practice of piling manure in 
the field in small heaps during the winter, to be spread just before 
spring plowing, enriches one spot at the expense of the area around it. 
beside having the risk of loss from hot fermentation. 

HOT FERMENTATION REDUCES THE VALUE OF MANURE 
BY THE LOSS OF NITROGEN. 

The compounds of nitrogen in barnyard manure are the most 
valuable of its plant food constituents. They are also the most easily 
lost from the manure. Being unstable compounds they are changed 
by fermentation and ammonia is formed. This escapes into the air in 



9 

the form of ammonium carbonate, a volatile substance which is soluble 
in water. In the process of fermentation the oxygen of the air is re- 
quired by the life processes of the bacteria causing the fermentation, 
and heat is liberated in the manure pile. Thus it is that when stable 
manure from horses or sheep is loosely piled, it grows hot and gixes 
off a strong odor of ammonia. Sufficient packing and wetting to ex- 
clude the air reduces the hot fermentation to a minimum. The prac- 
tical remedy is found where mamire from all the farm animals is mixed 
and trampled down in a manure shed or covered barnyard. A flat 
topped pile well trodden down and moistened occasionally will also 
check hot fermentation. Various absorbents have been used to entrap 
the ammonia with success. Gypsum or land plaster forms with 
ammonia a more stable compound of nitrogen and prevents its escape 
into the air. Dry earth, muck, ground phosphate rock, superphosphate 
and kainit have all been used to prevent the waste of nitrogen by 
fermentation. Kainit and superphosphate have been found injurious 
to the hoofs of animals when used on the stable floors. Probably the 
fermentation of nitrogen comijounds in the liquid manure begins very 
soon after it is voided. The odor of ammonia is often quite pronounced 
in a poorly ventilated stable on a winter morning. It is important that 
some good absorbent be sprinkled in the gutters or where the manure 
falls before the bedding is laid down, and thus save most of the 
nitrogen in the manure. 

Beside those bacteria which break up the nitrogen compounds and 
liberate ammonia, there is another class which may destroy the nitrog- 
enous part of barnyard manure and set free nitrogen gas. These 
bacteria do not need air or free oxygen for their life processes and 
consequently they may be found at work where hot fermentation is 
impossible. In cases where excessive applications of manure were 
made to the soil it has been found that a part of the nitrogen was lost 
by the action of these denitrifying bacteria. It is customary for some 
market gardeners to apply as high as oO tons of rotted manure per acre 
to soil intended for early crops like cabbage which must mature before 
the heat of summer, when soil fermentations are most actixe. If it were 
not for the fact that the crop is sold for a fancy price, the waste of nitro- 
gen attending such heavy applications of manure could not be justified. 
For all ordinary crops it is more profitable to apply manure in mod- 
erate quantities. A light dressing frequently repeated is better for 
field crops than excessive applications with several years intervening. 
With machinery adapted to spreading varying quantities per acre it 
becomes possible to regulate the application of manure to a nicety 
and secure the largest returns from its use. 



10 

REINFORCING MANURE. 

Barnyard manure is not a perfect or complete fertilizer for all 
soils. Where grain farming has been practiced for many years with- 
out much attention to replenishing the phosphorus of the soil, the best 
results from, using barnyard manure are not obtained until some form 
of phosphorus is added to the manure. The older cultivated soils of 
this country are often found deficient in phosphorus for maximum 
crop growing. The nitrogen of the soil may be maintained and in- 
creased by the use of barnyard manure and the growing of legumes 
which are able to utilize the free nitrogen of the air. Most soils con- 
tain stores of potash which become available fast enough for crop 
needs where barnyard manure decays in the soil and lime is used. But 
the phosphorus of barnyard manure added to that which slowly be- 
comes available in many soils is not sufficient to balance or complete 
the plant food requirements of many crops, it has been shown by 
investigations at the agricultural experiment stations that when phos- 
phorus is added to manure before it is applied the gain in crop pro- 
duction due to the addition is worth more than the cost of the phos- 
phorus carrier added. The two best sources of phosphorus for this 
purpose are superphosphate, or acid phosphate, and the raw ground 
phosphate rock called "floats" from which the superphosphate is made. 
In the corn belt states where the decomposition of humus in the soil 
is more active during the summer season the "floats" added to barn- 
yard manure undergo chemical changes which make the phosphorus 
available to crops more readily than in the soils of the Northern and 
Eastern states. The use of superphosphate brings better results finan- 
cially where soils are more clayey and the summer season less favor- 
able to soil fermentation. The phosphorus of superphosphate is 
mostly in a form immediately useful to agricultural crops. 

Both carriers of phosphorus added to barnyard manure have 
been tested at the Ohio Experiment Station. Director Thorne writ- 
ing in Ohio Farmer says : "A dressing of 8 tons of fresh manure 
per acre once in three years, equivalent to 2ys tons annually, has 
given a total increase to the value of $8.83 per acre annually, or $3.08 

for each ton of manure When acid phosphate has been used 

Avith the manure in the Station's experiments, the total value of the 
increase has risen to $13.47 per acre annually, or to $13.67 after de- 
ducting the cost of the phosphate, equivalent to $-1.75 per ton of 
manure. The acid phosphate has been more effective when used in 
combination with manure than when used alone. Each material has 
reinforced and supplemented the other." 

Where "floats" are used in the stable as an absorbent, 1 pound per 
day for each animal will be sufficient to balance the manure for crops 



11 

grown in the ordinary rotation. Since acid phosphate is injurious to 
the hoofs of animals when sprinkled on stable floors, it is better to 
sprinkle it over the load just before drawing to the field or storing 
under cover, at the rate of 40 pounds per ton of manure. Steamed 
bone meal is another carrier of phosphorus which may also be used to 
balance manure where the soil is deficient in available phosphorus. 
The best results from the use of these materials are most likely to be 
obtained where the manure and phosphorus carrier are thoroughly 
mixed and finely divided in applying them to the soil. The manure 
spreader will do this to the best advantage. 

The time at which barnyard manure is applied to the field intended 
for a particular crop is of considerable importance. The condition of 
the manure and the kind of soil also have some bearing on the net 
results obtained in any given crop. Where crops are grown in rotation 
the net result of the manuring for the entire rotation should be the 
deciding factor. Director Thorne illustrates this very clearly in the 
case of corn followed by wheat. "It has been found in practice that for 
wheat crops rotted manure should be applied as a top dressing, while 
corn is greatly benefited by plowing under fresh manure in the spring. 
At the Ohio Station corn which had received 8 tons of fresh 
manure per acre gave an average yield of 2'3 bushels per acre 
more than the yield of the unmanured land beside it. The wheat 
which followed the corn in the rotation without any further manuring 
or fertilizing yielded nearly 10 bushels per acre more than the un- 
manured land. WHiere the wheat land received its manure as a top 
dressing just before seeding, the manure ha^'ing been kept in the barn- 
yard all summer for this purpose, the yield of wheat averaged only 
1-5 of a bushel more than the yield of wheat which followed the 
manured corn crop. In the director's own words, "while the manure 
was lying in the barnyard waiting for the wheat, it might have grown 
more than 20 bushels of corn without impairing its value for wheat 
production." In practice the exact time and condition for the applica- 
tion of barnyard manure to farm crops, in order to derive the greatest 
benefit from its use, cannot always be followed closely. It is a bulky, 
heavy fertilizer to handle and the expense of extra handling and 
storage, the danger of losses in value, and the convenience of the 
farmer, are likely to hinder the most effective application of it. How- 
ever, the advent of the manure spreader has made it easier to approach 
something like a system which may conform to the following state- 
ments in regard to the time and conditions for the application of barn- 
yard manure to certain crops. 

Barnyard manure for meadows and pastures should be applied 
fresh and well scattered as a top dressing. On old meadows the work 



12 

may begin as soon as tlie last liay croji is cut and continue whenever 
ihe ground is lirm enough U) hold up the team and spreader until the 
grass begins growth in the following spring, but the sooner after hay- 
ing the better the effect. The protection during dry weather in late 
summer and autumn and the leaching of the soluble plant food from 
the manure to the grass roots will stimulate the grasses into renewed 
growth before winter comes on. l"he top dressing of declining 
pastures ought to begin when the spring growth of grass has been 
cropped down. New grass and clover seedings are greatly benefited 
by top dressing as soon as the grain crop with which they are 
usually sown is removed. 1lie young plants are not well established 
until they have the entire use of the soil. Finely scattered fresh 
manure brings to the young plants prepared food and lessens the 
dangers from drought. Many farmers are adopting the plan of top 
dressing new seedings of grass and clover because of the pronounced 
benefit to the first hay crop following. The idea that the drying of 
barnyard manure when scattered on a meadow robs the manure of 
strength is entirely erroneotis. Experiments at the Cornell Station 
showed conclusively that thoroughly air dried manure did not lose its 
fertilizing constituents. 

The amount to apply on meadows in order to secure good returns 
in grass are indicated by a timothy field which the writer saw re- 
cently. Two years ago it received twelve loads of good barnyard 
manure per acre applied during autumn and winter with a spreader. 
The hay crop of the following year was considerably larger. A year 
ago the owner applied six loads per acre and his crop of hay this year 
(1909) was by far the best the writer has seen. The beneficial effects 
on clover of manure plowed under for a previous corn crop have 
been noted by Mr. M. A. Crosby in Ohio Farmer. In Northern Michi- 
gan on a high sandy knoll it had been found difficult to secure a good 
stand of clover when the sandy loam of that section ordinarily grew 
clover well. The top of this knoll was given a good dressing of barn- 
yard manure before plowing for corn in the spring. The clover seed 
was sown in the corn in August and covered lightly with a cultivator. 
When winter came the growth of clover on the knoll showed greater 
vigor than the rest of the field. \Vhen the clover was ready to mow 
the following summer, the marked difference in the stand and growth 
of the clover on the knoll where manure had been applied for corn, 
and the unmanured portion of the field, could be plainly noted as far 
as the field could be seen. 

Cornell Experiment Station Bulletin 261 reports the influence of 
fertilizers, including barnyard manure, on the production of timothy 
hay when grow^n in a rotation which included three successive timothy 



13 

crops. Barnyard manure was applied at the rate of 10 and 20 tons 
per acre before seeding with timothy, and the plots were top dressed 
at the rate of 10 and 20 tons per acre after the second crop was cut. 
Calculating the value of manure at 50 cents i)cr ton on the farm it 
was found that the net gain from the use of this fertilizer for timothy 
hay was greater than that from any of the other forms of fertilizer 
used. 

Fresh barnyard manure is best to apply to fields intended for corn. 
This crop is known as a gross feeder and is able to make good use of 
coarse raw manure plowed under. The time of application, the con- 
dition of the manure, and top dressing versus plowing under for corn 
have been studied at the Maryland Agricultural Experiment Station 
with the following results : 

Where applications of fresh manure were compared with rotted 
manure on corn the average of two crops showed a gain of 10.2 
bushels of grain and 72.5 pounds of fodder in favor of the manure fresh 
from the stable. 

Where fresh manure was applied for corn in July, November. 
January and March the average yield for four crops showed a steady 
decrease in the yields from July to March applications of 25.3 bushels 
of grain or a little over 30 per cent. Where rotted manure was ap- 
plied in July, November and March the decrease from July to March 
applications was similar and amounted to 10.2 bushels or 14 per cent. 

The gain per acre from using fresh manure as a top dressing 
after plowing corn land was 10.9 bushels of grain and 550 pounds of 
fodder as an average of two crops. 

A top dressing of rotted manure on land already plowed for corn 
resulted in a gain of only 0.3 bushel of grain and a loss of 100 pounds 
of fodder. These results are clearly in favor of fresh manure for 
corn, applied in summer or autumn if it is to be plowed under, or 
used as a top dressing after plowing in the spring. 

An Ohio farmer writes thus to the National Stockman and Farmer 
regarding the time to apply manure for corn. "Three years ago 1 
hauled out manure and spread on sod for corn all winter as made 
from the stables up to the first of March. Then came a thaw and a 
rainy spell, keeping it too muddy to get on the field till the first of 
May. Then I hauled out the rest of the manure and plowed the field. 
Where I hauled in winter up to March 1st there was much the best 
corn. I left a big strip where there was no manure. There was no 
difiference in the corn where I hauled in May from where I put 
no manure." 

Director Thorne of the Ohio Station says : "The fact that corn 
is usually planted on sod land makes it especially easy to manure this 



14 

crop ; for the manuring may begin as soon as the hay is taken off and 
continued through the winter until time to plow the land, or even 
until time to plant. The only objections to top dressing for corn are 
that coarse manure interferes with cultivation and the weed and 
grass seeds carried in the manure add to the difficulty of keeping the 
crop clean. Many farmers v^dio are following this method of handling- 
manure have stated that manure spread on sod land in the fall pro- 
duces a larger increase than that spread immediately before plowing, 
and this is to be expected ; for the fall manuring encourages the 
growth of the grass during the late fall and early spring, and thus 
produces a larger mass of roots, which will improve both the fertility 
and the physical texture of the soil." 

A New Jersey farmer writing for Rural New-Yorker, says: "We 
usually apply most of our manure to corn ground and turn it under. 
. . . Contrary to our established custom, we allowed ten or a dozen 
loads to accumulate in our barnyard during our busy week of corn 
planting. The following week we spread it on a small lot containing 
about an acre, after the corn was planted but before it came up. 
Never having had any experience in driving a heavy team and a still 
heavier loaded manure spreader over a newly planted field of corn, we 
awaited results with some anxiety. Our anxiety, however, was 
quickly dispelled, as the corn put in a marvelously prompt appearance, 
distancing and at the finish surpassing all our earlier planted fields. 
and this in the face of the fact that this field had been planted to corn 
the previous year. As far as we were able to note, no damage what- 
ever followed the use of the spreader." 

It would seem very evident from such testimony as the above 
that the manure spreader is a valuable aid to securing large corn crops 
and may greatly lessen the difficulty of cultivation where top dressing 
is practiced. 

On fall sowings of winter wheat and rye (often accompanied by 
timothy seed) the manure should be well mixed with the surface of the 
seed bed. If fresh manure has been applied and plowed under for 
the previous crop this is partly accomplished in the plowing for the 
fall sown crop. If the soil has not been recently manured a top 
dressing of finely divided fresh manure or rotted manure should be 
given while fitting the seed bed. The effort should be to encourage 
the rye and wheat roots to feed near the surface before winter set in. 
Then less injury from heaving by frost will result and the top 
dressing also affords some protection to the young plants from the 
severity of the winter. To properly top dress wheat fields for autumn 
sowing a manure spreader is almost a necessity, for the manure needs 
to be spread evenly and uniformly over the entire surface of the field. 



15 

Barnyard manure may be beneficial to spring sown oats and barley 

if used judiciously. On soils lacking- in humus and deficient in plant 
food, applications of manure plowed under for oats will improve the 
growth of straw and increase the grain yield. The application should 
not be heavy and coarse strawy manure is likely to interfere with the 
rise of capillary moisture in the soil should the season prove to be dry. 
Too much well rotted manure applied for oat crops will cause lodging 
of the straw and consequent loss. It is better to manure the preceding 
crop and allow the oats to have the residual benefit of the manure in 
the soil. Barley is subject to much the same principle in manuring. 
A light top dressing of fine manure applied with the manure spreader 
will be found beneficial on poor soils, especially where it is desired to 
start a clover and grass seeding with the crop of oats or barley. 

Barnyard manure is generally very beneficial to potatoes, roots 
and garden crops. There are few soils that do not need some organic 
matter added in order to produce the best garden and root crops. 
Even black muck and dark loams are often in need of the bacteria 
contained in manure and the increased fermentation and chemical 
changes brought about by applying it compensate for its use. For 
potatoes fresh manure is best applied in the early autumn and plowed 
under to decay during winter and early spring. The ground should 
be replowed before planting in the spring and the manure thoroughly 
mixed with the soil. Rotted manure may be used with success before 
spring plowing for potatoes. Mangels and sugar beets are injured 
by fresh manure as is also tobacco, and the manure should be well 
decayed if applied in the spring before planting. The preparation of 
soil for potatoes as described above will be found excellent for most 
garden crops. Early cabbage, cauliflower, celery and onions may be 
given heavier applications of manure but it should not be spread in 
large chunks or forkfuls. Even though as much as 30 tons per 
acre be used it should be broken and scattered in small particles, then 
thoroughly mixed into the soil. Fresh manure used as a mulch for 
certain garden crops will be very useful in a drought. Well composted 
manure placed in the hills planted to melons, squashes and cucumbers 
will often make the difiference between success and failure on upland 
soils. Poultry droppings mixed with the manure from other farm 
animals add to its value as a garden fertilizer. 

It should be remembered that the kind of soil treated with 
manure exerts considerable influence in the results obtained. The 
foregoing statements will need some modifications for local conditions. 
It is hoped that the farmer's judgment will enable him to make the 
necessary modifications in practice. 



16 



THE MANURE SPREADER 

Considerable emphasis has been laid by the writer on the ability 
of manure spreaders to tear manure apart and apply it evenly and 
lightly in a iinely divided condition. This is the reason that increased 
efficiency can be justly claimed for machine spread manure over that 
spread in the ordinary way. Director Thorne of the Ohio Station is 
authority for the statement that eight loads of manure per acre ajv 
plied with the spreader have about as great efficiency as twelve loads 
put on roughly with a fork. In writing for Ohio Farmer on this sub- 
ject he says: "Another fault of the primitive method of manure dis- 
tribution was the very imperfect manner in which it was scattered. 
Turn the fork as I would, there would be lumps of manure here and 
uncovered spaces there, thus getting an excess of manure in one spot 
and leaving another without any. But the investigations of our own 
and other experiment stations have shown that when manure is used 
in excessive quantities a large part of its elTectiveness is lost, and thus 
the 15 or 20 tons of manure per acre which we then thought to be but 
a moderate dressing often produced less efifect than half that quantity 
would have done if properly distributed. In fact, it is practically im- 
possible to distribute manure properly by hand, and the attempt to do 
so increases the cost of distribution far beyond that of spreading by 
machinery. There can be little doubt that where there are 100 tons of 
manure to be distributed annually, the manure spreader will pay 25 to 
50 per cent on its cost each year." Where eight loads spread by horse 
power can bring the same benefit that twelve loads do when spread 
by hand labor, it folIow^s that a given manure production on the farm 
will cover 50 per cent more of the fields each season if the manure 
spreader is substituted for hand spreading. There are many farmers 
the country over who value barnyard manure highly, but do not ha\'e 
enough to cover but a fraction of the farm each year; consequently 
each field cultivated receives a good coating but once in several years. 
It has been shown that frequent light coatings of manure are more 
beneficial than the same amount applied once at intervals of several 
years. With the aid of the manure spreader a larger acreage can be 
covered each year, thereby lessening the periods between applications. 

Nature's method of fertilizing the soil puts the falling leaves, 
grasses and weeds on the surface of the soil to be slowly incorporated 
as time goes on. Top dressing with barnyard manure parallels 
nature's method when the manure is well torn to pieces and each 



17 

particle falls by itself. In most cases this is impractical with liaiul 
spreading, but not so with the machine. The mulching effects ol 
manure, and the benefits derived from leaching it close to the roots of 
plants have become more and more apparent to those farmers who 
have adopted machine spreading. Mr. C. E. Green writes in Ohio 
Farmer: "I have spread manure in growing corn with good results 
but I believe that with the spreader it might be put on the wheat 
crop with much profit, not only to the wheat in affording a mulch and 
protecting from the washing by rains, but in securing a better stand of 
grass or clover, a thing greatly to be sought. It might be at times 
that there would be a loss by the wash of rains, but close observation 
will show that the wash of the soil will not be nearly so great when 
protected by coarse manure or straw." 

Mr. Chesney Hatch, an Indiana farmer, made a very practical 
demonstration of the increased efficiency of machine spreading for 
barnyard manure. The details are related by Allen N. Stewart in 
Hoard's Dairyman: "In 1905 he spread barnyard manure on Hi 
acres of corn ground vvith a spreader. He harvested 620 bushels ol 
corn which he valued at $'348.00. On another plot of ground in the 
same field he spread barnyard manure on 10 acres by hand. He har- 
vested 500 bushels of corn which he valued at $200.00, making an in- 
crease from machine spreading over hand spreading of $48.00. In eacli 
case he spread five loads per acre. You will note that there was a gain 
of $4.80 per acre; or if figured in another way. on fifty loads of 
manure there was a gain of $48.00." 

While the gain in efficiency of the manure from machine spread- 
ins" is ereat enougfh to warrant the investment, the convenience and 
economy of labor must be added if the whole truth is to be told. The 
manure spreader will cover an acre of ground more quickly than it is 
possible to do it by hand labor. The change from loading to spreading 
gives the driver a chance to rest some of his muscles so that he can 
show more speed in loading than he otherwise would if he had to 
unload with a fork in the field. 

The labor problem in the United States has made the development 
of power machinery and horse drawn implements for farm use very 
rapid. Horse flesh and machinery are almost invariably cheaper than 
human labor in the progressive farming states. 

The writer believes that next to our improved harvesting ma- 
chinery the manure spreader is one of our greatest labor saving 
devices for the farm. Here is the experience of a New Jersey farmer 
given in the columns of Rural New-Yorker : "I consider these ma- 
chines one of the .greatest time and labor saving devices about the 
farm I live on a truck farm of 135 acres, and have about 400 



18 

tons of manure per year to handle. This is obtained direct from 
Philadelphia dealers by boat via Delaware River, and is landed during 
the fall in large heaps on the shore. In the winter this is carted and 
placed in smaller heaps at each end of the field on which it is to be 
used. In the early spring these heaps have to be thoroughly mixed 
and pulverized to facilitate spreading from the cart directly into the 
furrows. There is very little broadcasting done on the truck farms 
in this section Having had my own share of this work, I de- 
cided to lighten it if possible, and so after examination purchased a 30- 
bushel spreader of a standard make. At first I tried three horses to 
the machine, but later used four and obtained much better results. 
Now. with four horses and two men about half as much more manure 
may be spread in the same time two horses and the same two men 
did it formerly. Not only is time saved, but the laborious mixing of 
the heap is done away with, the spreader pulverizing the roughest 
manure as fine as possible. I would advise anyone having even a 
small amount of manure to spread to purchase one of these machines. 
The increased yield on all crops due to a more even distribution and 
thorough pulverization than can be obtained by other methods will pay 
the first cost of the machine." 

It should be noticed in this connection that the manure spreader 
cannot be used for any other purpose, hence it is not likely to be tied 
up elsewhere when wanted for daily service. With proper attention 
to oiling and necessary repairs it is "always on the job." Where 
stables are built to allow of driving between the rows of stalls the 
spreader is an ideal cart for removing the manure daily from the 
stables to the fields. Where overhead litter carriers are used to clean 
stables, the spreader may be placed outside daily where the carrier 
bucket can be dumped directly into it, doing away with pitching the 
manure over the sides of the spreader box. 

It is sometimes argued that the spreader will not tear coarse, 
stringy litter apart in spreading. The writer's experience has been 
that intelligent loading of the spreader box, keeping the sides filled 
level with the center and tramping with the feet if necessary, and 
loading from front to rear end, will greatly reduce this difficulty. A 
South Dakota farmer's experience reads thus : "My machine is the 
.")0-bushel size and was guaranteed to give satisfaction, being shipped 
on thirty days' trial. It has filled every requirement so far. The first 
work done with it was to clean out a shed in which 100 to 200 head of 
range cattle had sheltered for about seven winters without bedding. 
This manure was packed so hard that it came out in large chunks, 
which were thrown into the spreader as they were, and I used most of 
it for top dressing a 3-acre garden. The spreader ground most of 



19 

the lumps to a powder, leaving a few small ones here and there. We 
could not have spread this manure by hand as repeated planking^ and 
disking did not crush many of the Ivmips that were left. 

"The next trial was at the hog pens which had suffered from an 
overflow of the creek. Not having any other litter I used a lot of long 
slough hay to absorb the moisture, when the water went down. This 
made a fine mess, as I had previously thrown in some clay to level the 
floors thinking it would pack down hard. I told the man that I 
believed we were stuck, as we could hardly handle the stufif with forks. 
To our surprise it handled this oozy, stringy mass easier and better 
than it had the lumps." 

Some skeptical persons say that the spreader will not work in 
wmter when the ground is covered with snow, and that is the time 
when many farmers find it convenient to haul out their manure. If 
this were true it would hinder the daily use of the spreader in hauling 
manure directly to the field in winter. A Michigan farmer writes to 
Rural New-Yorker as follows : "As for working the spreader in the 
snow, it can be done in a reasonable amount of snow if one has the 
horse power. We have had the hardest winter for years, yet there was 
not a week at a time up to February that we could not use the 
spreader, and we have used it to haul the manure from fifty horses and 
cattle besides our own, also about two loads of wood ashes each week 
from a saw mill. In ordinary winters like the two preceding ones 
there would hardly be a week at a time when the spreader could not 
be used. We put traction ban'ds on the rear wheels when the ground 
freezes. It will work all right in 3 or 4 inches of snow, or even in 6 
inches if it is light, with two liorses. but this makes the draft too 
heavy for steady work." 

A New York state farmer also writes: "I know farmers who use 
their manure spreaders right through the winter here where it is 
sleighing all the time and have no trouble to use it in snow at least 1 
foot deep. They consider their manure worth much more spread right 
from the stable on lands not too steep." 

There are some primary considerations to be heeded in buying a 
manure spreader. The first one is the draft. A 2,600-pound team 
ought to run a 50 or 60-bushel spreader on level ground without undue 
exertion. Of course, the condition of the manure is bound to make 
some difference in the draft ; so also is the condition of the ground 
over which the manure is spread. It is wise to provide for extra horse 
power under unfavorable circumstances such as top dressing plowed 
ground, and handling coarse, tough manure, but no farmer need buy a 
machine that is a horse killer. 

The second essential point is the simplicity. Too many gearings, 



20 

cams and levers are likely to mean frequent repairs as well as add to 
the draft of the machine. The simpler the machine the better under- 
stood and operated by the ordinary man. EfBciency need not be sacri- 
hced to mere simplicity, however. 

A third desirable feature to be sougiit is ease of controlling the 
amount to be spread per acre. It frecpiently is desirable on rolling 
land to vary the amount spread t(5 suit the particular needs of different 
portions of the same field. A machine which will allow the driver to 
change the speed of the delivery without stopping the machine or 
endangering the mechanism, has something in its favor. 

Other features being equal, the machine which will spread evenly 
the widest swath is the most desirable. 

EDWARD R. MINXS. 

Cornell U niversit} , Ithaca, N. Y. 



21 



EXPERT TESTIMONY 



On this and the following pages are given extracts from letters received 
from Directors and Professors in charge of State Agricultural Experiment 
Stations. These men are the foremost investigators and educators in the 
agricultural science, and their opinions and statements must be accepleil as 
authority. 



NORTH CAROLINA 
DEPARTMENT OF AGRICULTURE. 

Raleigh, Aug. 28, IDOSt. 
Barnyard manure is one of the most valuable assets on the farm where 
considerable live stock is kept. The greatest benefit from this in increasing the 
yield of crops will be obtained from an even and uniform distribution of the 
manure, and this can only be had by the use of a good manure spreader. Where 
there is considerable manure it pays to Viave a spreader. 

Very truly yours. 

B. W. KILGORE. 
Stale Chemist and Director, Farm Crops. 



AGRICULTURAL EXPERIMENT STATION 

OF THE RHODE ISLAND STATE COLLEGE, 

KINGSTON. RHODE ISLAND. 

Sept. 8, 1909. 
Practically every station director will endorse the use of all the barnyard 
manure possible. Barnyard manure must be spread, whether plowed under 
or harrowed into the soil, and everyone knows that the manure spreader is the 
most economic means of accomplishing this distribution. 

V'ery truly yours. 

11. J. WHEELER. 
Director. 

OREGON EXPERIMENT STATION. 

CORVALLIS. OREGON. 

-Vug. 28. 1900. 
A modern manure spreader will increase the manurial value to the farmer 
of his barnyard compost at least .50 per cent. Where much manure is to be 
handled we recommend the using of the spreader. 

Yuurs trul\'. 
J.\MES WITHYCOMBE, 

Director. 



22 

SOUTH DAKOTA 

AGRICULTURAL EXPERIMENT 

STATION. 

Brookings, S. Dak., August 2, 1909. 

My opinion as to the value of the manure spreader over the hand method 
is that the manure spreader is indispensable. The advantage of having the 
manure scattered evenly is recognized by all. The advantage of having it done 
by machinery instead of by hand is a great one. The real work of handling, 
before the manure spreader came into use was the scattering of the manure in 
the fields. This has all been done away with in the advent of the manure 
spreader. 

It is an advantage to the Western farmer to haul the manure out as it is 
made. Of course, there is a little loss by putting the manure upon the field 
before the frost is out, but the loss is not great enough to offset the expense 
that it would be to the farmer to haul it during the busy season of the year 
when the cost of labor is the highest. Every field will respond to an application 
of barnyard manure. It not only improves the fertility of the soil, but in 
a great many cases it improves the physical condition of the soil. I think 
people are liable to lose sight of the fact that the soil is sometimes in a 
poor physical condition. Much of the manure made in our cities is carted to 
some convenient dump pile and some is dumped in streams to be washed down 
during high water. It seems to me that the farmers who live close to these 
cities should secure the sweepings of the streets and the manure and have il 
put on their lands. Yours truly, 

JAMES W. WILSON, 

Director. 



STORRS AGRICULTURAL EXPERIMENT STATION. 

Eagleville, Conn., July 30, 1909. 
The manure spreader is, in my opinion, a farm tool which should be on 
every farm where stock is kept, at least where a dairy herd of ten cows or 
more arc on the farm. While the use of the manure spreader does not add any 
plant food to the manure, yet it distributes the manure so uniformly that all 
parts of the soil are benefited by it. In my opinion the efficiency of stable 
manure is increased from 50 to 100 per cent by the daily use of the manure 
spreader and the daily removal of all the manure produced on the place to the 
fields. Yours very truly. 

L. A. CLINTON, 
Director. 

UNIVERSITY OF TENNESSEE 

COLLEGE OF AGRICULTURE AND EXPERIMENT STATION, 

KNOXVILLE. 

August 25, 1909. 
It is my opinion that the manure spreader is one of the most economical 
machines on the farm. Tt is a great labor and manure saver. 

Yours very truly, 

H. A. MORGAN. 

Director. 



23 

UNIVERSITY OF MISSOURI 
COLLEGE OF AGRICULTURE, 

AGRICULTURE EXPERIMENT STATION. 

Columbia. Mo., August 19, 1909. 

The value of stable manure is only partially appreciated by the average 
farmer. Too many men still consider manure a nuisance rather than one of 
the most valuable of farm assets. But with the increasing value of farm lands 
the time is upon us when even on the best farms manure must be scrupulousl}' 
saved, if the land is to pay a fair return upon its valuation. 

It is, of course, impossible to place an accurate valuation upon a ton of 
manure on account of its great variability in composition, due principally to 
the manner in which it is kept, as well as to the material fed, the kind of 
animals, etc. However, for average farm manure a valuation of $2.00 per ton 
is none too high. In other words, the application of a ton of manure will in- 
crease crop yields sufficiently under average conditions, to the value of at least 
$2.00 and in many cases a great deal more than this. It can readily be seen 
therefore, that the man who has 150 tons of manure (an amount readily made 
on the average farm) his yearlj' income will be increased at least $300.00 per 
year by its use. 

With the average stock farm where a systematic change of crops is 
followed, and practically all crops are fed. it is perfectly possible to apply from 
5 to 8 tons of manure to each acre of corn land. Many men are doing this. 
The result is an increase in the value of the product from each acre of from 
$10.00 to $16.00 during one round of a three or four-year rotation and in many 
cases much more than this. To do this readily it is necessary in most cases 
to carefully save this manure by feeding under open sheds or around straw 
stacks and then scattering the manure with a spreader. 

The plan of feeding directly on the fields is a good one in many instances, 
but with a careful change of crops and the use of clover preceding corn, lot and 
shed feeding is usually more profitable and satisfactory. Such a system neces- 
sitates the use of a manure spreader if the greatest return is secured from the 
manure and if the greatest economy in handing the manure is attained. 

The value of a manure spreader is usually thought to be in the saving of 
labor, but as a matter of fact there are two other reasons why a manure 
spreader should be used which are really of greater importance. The first of 
these is the greater return to be secured per ton of manure where it is put on 
evenly and rather thin as compared with the common practice of putting it on 
unevenly and usually onlj' on the thinner spots. Results have shown very 
definitely that such is the case. The second is that wher.e a man owns a 
spreader he will almost always take better care of his manure than he will 
where manure hauling is such a bugbear. Personally I think that these reasons 
for owning a spreader are really of greater importance than that of saving 
labor, although this is an important item on the modern farm. 

I believe, therefore, that a manure spreader will pay on every stock farm 
of one hundred acres or more and in many cases on farms of much less area. 
I know of no other one thing which needs emphasis more strongly among the 
farming class than the necessity for the proper care and handling of manure. 

Yours truly, 
M. F. MILLER, 
Professor Department of Agronomy. 



24 

TUSKEGEE NORMAL AND INDUSTRIAL INSTITUTE, 

TUSKEGEE INSTITUTE. ALA. 

Sept. 4, 1909. 
The subject of barnyard manure is one of great importance, and the mon- 
it is intelligently discussed the more prominently will its many important sides 
be shown up, to the advantage of the wideawake farmer. 

I think it is generallj' conceded by every farmer that there is no manure 
or fertilizer that builds up the land so rapidly and permanently as what wc 
class as barnyard manure. 

The question of handling such large quantities economically and their even 
distribution has been a matter of much concern. The more finely it is divided 
and the more evenly it is distributed, the more and better will be the results. 

i believe the proper kind of manure spreader will do this work better, 
quicker and more economically than it can be done in any other way. 

Yours very truly, 

GEO. W. CARVER, 
Director Agricultural Instruction. 



THE AGRICULTURAL EXPERIMENT STATION, 

STATE AGRICULTURAL COLLEGE, 

FORT COLLINS, COLORADO. 

Sept. 3, 1909. 
Barnyard manure, and especially manure from stock corrals, is most 
valuable in this state. It should be understood, however, that it should be 
thoroughly rotted, for with our dry soil, the application of much manure with 
straw may be a detriment for some time. Manure spreaders are used very 
largely in our state and I have heard no serious fault found with them. 

Sincerely yours, 

L. G. CARPENTER, 
Director. 

AGRICULTURAL EXPERIMENT STATIONS, 

FORT WORTH, TEXAS. 

Sept. 4, 1909. 
We get the most satisfactory results by spreading green barnyard manure 
on the soil without waiting for it to undergo much fermentation. It ought to 
be spread broadcast and then plowed under as soon thereafter as practicable. 
Of course, during summer months when crops are growing it must be applied 
to fields that are not in crops, or else heaped up and spread as soon thereafter 
as possible. A little acid phosphate added to the manure heap will help 
preserve it and add materially to its value, say 35 pounds of phosphate to a 
ton of manure, or 100 pounds to the ton, of phosphate floats. It is better, 
of course, to have the manure heap under a shed to prevent leaching and a 
little phosphate spread over the surface will prevent the escape of ammonia. 

Yours truly, 

H. H. HARRINGTON, 

Director. 



25 

MASSACHUSETTS 

AGRICULTURAL EXPERIMENT STATION, 

AMHERST, MASS. 

Sept. 3, 1909. 
The value of barnyard manure is so fully appreciated by all our farmers 
and gardeners that we seldom think of discussing that subject. Certainly 
should we publish a bulletin on that subject we should be laughed at. This 
is not to say that some of our farmers do not handle their manure improperly. 
This is not to say that oftentimes it is so managed that a considerable propor- 
tion of its valuable constituents are lost. These phases of the matter we have 
discussed. Barnyard manure is valuable not alone because of the elements of 
plant food which it contains, but because of the fact that it supplies a large 
amount of humus, and thus helps to maintain the soil in proper physical con- 
dition; and because of the further fact that its use much improves the conditions 
in the soil to which it is applied for the activity of useful soil organisms. 

I cannot take the time to discuss in full the care of manure. I will point 
out only that upon the average the liquid excrements possess about double 
the plant food value of the solid, and that a prime essential in good manage- 
ment is the careful preservation of every drop of liquid. As a rule, the best 
manner of insuring this result is to keep the animals upon a tight floor, either 
of plank or concrete, and to bed them liberally with straw or something of 
similar nature which will absorb the liquid. 

In the second place, the most valuable constituent of our manures is 
nitrogen. This is subject to loss through escape into the air in the form 
of ammonia, which is produced as a result of fermentation or decay. It is 
desirable, therefore, if manure is to be preserved to prevent excessive fermenta- 
tion. This result is best secured by keeping the manure compact and moist. 
The loss of ammonia can be still further guarded against by incorporating 
with the manure as it accumulates or in the stable a chemical which will 
combine with ammonia as it is formed to form a non-volatile compound. One 
of the best materials which can be used for that purpose is superphosphate 
plaster. Among other materials which are fairly efficient are superphosphate 
or acid phosphate, kainit and land plaster. These may be used in quantities 
ranging from about 1 to 2 pounds per animal daily. 

It goes without saying that manure should not be exposed to the leaching 
action of heavy rains. If it must be piled in the open air it should be put in 
heaps of such size and shape that rains will not soak through them. Even 
with the most careful management it is almost an impossibility entirely to 
prevent loss in accumulating or preserving manure. Many, therefore, prefer 
to take it almost directly from the stables to the field, where it is immediately 
spread and if possible incorporated with the soil. For this purpose the manure 
spreader is an exceedingly valuable implement, doing the work much better 
as well as more cheaply than it is possible to do by hand. 

Very truly yours, 

WM. P. BRO(^KS. 

Director. 



26 

OHIO AGRICULTURAL EXPERIMENT STATION, 
WOOSTER, OHIO. 

July 29, 1909. 
The experiments of this station indicate the possibility of realizing a 
value of from $3.00 to $5.00 per ton for b-irnyard manure when properly 
handled. In order to realize this value three things are necessary: 

First, the protection of the manure from rain or from heating under shelter. 

Second, the reinforcing of the manure with some carrier of phosphorus, 

as our system of agriculture is such that not only is the soil r-xhausted of this 

clement more rapidly than of others, but the manure which is returned to the 

soil is also relatively deficient in this clement. 

Third, the uniform distribution of the manure. 

The effectiveness of the manure is very greatly increased by uniform 
distribution, and this is only to be accomplished by machine work, since when 
distributed by hand there will always be lumps of manure in one place which 
give an excessive quantity, and other places will receive none. We therefore 
regard the manure spreader as one of the most valuable implements on the 
farm. Yours truly, 

CHAS. E. THORNE, 

Director. 



KENTUCKY AGRICULTURAL EXPERIMENT STATION, 

STATE UNIVERSITY, 

LEXINGTON, KY. 

Aug. 35, 1909. 
I am sending you under separate cover a copy of our Bulletin No. 140. 
which will give my ideas concerning the use of farm manure. I will also add 
that I regard a good manure spreader as one of the best investments that a 
farmer can make, as it saves time, spreads the manure more evenly than can be 
done by hand, and therefore makes it much more efficient. 

Yours very truly. 

GEO. ROBERTS, 

Chemist. 



THE UNIVERSITY OF NEBRASKA 

COLLEGE OF AGRICULTURE. 

AGRICULTI^RAL EXPERIMENT STATION, 

LINCOLN. 

August 13, 1909. 
No farmer will ever make a mistake in properly applying barnyard manure. 
The time has come when all farmers in the United States should take particular 
pains to save all the manure made on their farms and to carefully and properly 
spread this manure upon the land. There is no method which equals the use 
of a good manure spreader. Distribute it evenly and in small pieces so that the 
full value of manure may be retained on the land. 

Yours truly, 

C. W. PUGSLEY, 
.Agronomy and Farm Management. 



27 

VIRGINIA AGRICULTURAL EXPERIMENT STATION. 

Blacksburg, Va., August 25, 190y. 
Where a considerable quantity of manure is made on the farm, there is no 
question but that it pays to have a good manure spreader. Experiments have 
shown that the same amount of manure will bring larger returns spread thinly 
over a large area than if spread thickly over a small area. This is largely 
because the value of manure is due as much to the fact that it inoculates the 
soil with beneficial bacteria as to the plant food that it contains. A manure 
spreader distributes manure much thinner and more evenly than it can possibly 
be done by hand labor; hence, where the amount made is sufficient to justify 
it, an investment in a good spreader is amply justified. 

Yours very truly, 

S. W. FLETCHER, 

Director. 



STATE COLLEGE OF WASHINGTON. 

AGRICULTURAL EXPERIMENT STATION, 

PULLMAN, WASHINGTON. 

Aug. 37, 1909. 

The soil in this state is as yet so new that few of our farmers appreciate 
the value of farm manure as a fertilizer. We have found, however, by an 
extensive series of experiments at this station that most profitable results may 
be obtained from the use of manure even on soils so new and so rich in virgin 
fertility as are ours. For example, one plot of land which has been seeded to 
winter wheat continuously for ten years and has received 10 tons per acre of 
manure each year has given us an average yield of 43.8 bushels per acre, tht- 
average yield for the first five years being 43.2 bushels per acre and for the sec- 
ond five years 44.4 bushels per acre. An adjoining lot treated in exactly the- 
same manner, except that it has received no manure, has given us an average 
yield of 27 bushels per acre, the yield for the first five years averaging 34. .5 
bushels per acre and for the second five years 19.6 bushels per acre. Of course, 
wc do not recommend treating land continuously to wheat over such a period 
111 time as this, but these experiments have shown the possibility of maintaining 
lirofitable yields under continuous cropping to wheat if barn manure is 
intelligently used in connection with the sj^stem. 

I'.arnyard manure must be intelligently used in districts of limited rain 
fall, j.uch as prevails in this state. Otherwise the manure fails to decay and the 
sdils dry out very rapidly. The manure should be applied to the soil preferably 
in the fall, but in any event it should be scattered over the soil when applied 
and then disced into the ground so as to be well chopped up when the soil 
is plowed. Handled in this way manure can be used even in the extremely 
arid sections where the so called dry farming is practiced exclusively. Barnyard 
manure is the only economical means for preventing deterioration in soil 
fertility and is absolutely essential to profitable crop production on some of the 
soils in this state, particularly in regions of heavy rain fall, where the supply 
of available plant food is low because of excessive leaching in the soil. 

Yours very truly. 

R. W. THATCHER. 

Director, 



OCT J9 1909 



28 



h^' 



NORTH DAKOTA AGRICULTURAL COLLEGE. 
AGRICULTURAL COLLEGE, N. DAK. 

Sept. 1, 1909. 
I wish to say that uur people are coming to appreciate the value of manure 
spreaders in their common operations much more than they have done during 
the earlier history of the state. The addition of humus to soil, as well as the 
adding of fertility, is a prime necessity in every region that is farmed, and in 
dry land districts the humus supply is more urgent than in the more humid 
districts. Spreading manure on the fields with a manure spreader makes a 
much more even distribution than can be done by hand and the results are 
very much superior. Where drought conditions are present, uneven and a too 
heavy spreading of manure frequently causes heavy losses instead of added 
yields, as would be the case where good work in distribution is done. The 
demand for spreaders is increasing very rapidly in this state and I take it as 
one of the best indications that improved methods are gaining a foothold 
that can be found anywhere. Yours truly, 

J. H. SHEPPERD, 
Dean and Vice Director. 



OHIO AGRICULTURAL EXPERIMENT STATION. 

Showing the increase per acre and value of same from the use of manure, 
variously treated and applied to land used in growing a three-year rotation of 
corn, wheat and clover. 





Average Increase per Acre 


•Total 
Value of 
Increase 


Net Value of Increase 


MiUiuie aiHl TrtMtiiifiit 


Cciin. 
li; .Vfai>. 

Bu. 
17.i)4 
23.27 
29.30 
33.4S 


Wlieal. 
12 years. 


clover. 
9 .years. 


Per 

.\i-rc 


IVr Ton 

of 
Manure 


Nard manure, untreated 


Bu. 

8.87 
10.21 
15.30 
10.38 


Lbs. 
820 
1,3!K) 
1,018 
1,147 


.');ii>.07 

25.7.5 
35.07 
40.82 


$10.07 
25.75 
32.83 

38.58 


$2.40 
3.22 
4.10 

4.82 


Yard manure and acid phosphate 
Stall manure :uk1 acid phosphate. 



*Total value includes straw and stover, whi'li are not sliown in the table. 

The acid phosphate is scattered over the manure in the stable or yard 
three or four times per week at the rate of 1 pound of acid phosphate per 
animal per day, or 40 pounds per ton of manure. The manure is applied 
at the rate of 8 tons per acre and plowed under for ihc corn crop, which is 
followed by wheat and clover without any further manuring or fertilizing. 

In this table corn is computed at 40 cents per bushel, wheat at 80 cents, 
hay at $8.00 per ton, stover at $1^.00 and straw at $2.00. 

In addition to the information given above I will say that we consider 
the manure spreader essential to the realization of the full effect of the manure, 
because of the greairr uniformity witli wbicli it (li^tributes the manure. 

^'ol^■s truly. 

CH,\S. F.. THORNE, 

Director, 










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